CM Janice Hahn Speaks Out Against LA City Council's New "Denstiy Bonus" Incentive Bonanza

I didn't see anything about this in the LA Times, but it kinda hit ZD as the biggest thing to hit the City of Los Angeles in years when it comes to traffic, density and lack of infrastructure to accommodate the density that will be created by the new "density bonus" City Council is offering developers.

Click here for Item 45 from the LA City Council Agenda from 2/13/08 to see the heated debate between Janice Hahn, CM Tom LaBonge and CM Bill Rosendahl vs Eric Garshady and the rest of his developer puppets. In all my time following the council meetings, this was about the most lively debate, yet -- as opposed to the usual dog and pony show, non-debate. (It actually didn't pass unanimously. Hahn, LaBonge and Rosendahl voted "no".) You have to make it past CM Reyes who opens the debate, and will put you to sleep, but it picks up into a great reality show-style actual debate.

CM Wendy Greuel informed the public that, "I feel the reason we have the traffic today is because there is not enough affordable housing near where people work." (Near transit hubs.)

Sorry Wendy, I'm not sure if the public is going to be buying your logic that the City of LA's traffic problems are due to not enough affordable housing near transit lines??? (Nice try, though.) I hope you were just spinning and not actually that dumb.

Rhodes Scholarmember Eric Garcetti has a much more smugtelligent justification trying to spin that the reason neighborhoods are suffering from intolerable levels of congestion, traffic, smog and density side effects is -- because the city has NOT built all the new housing to accommodate all the new residents, so the City is forcing them to stay two families or more per household.

Common Garshmetti...I hope you don't believe your own small "d" free speech...the reason people live two families per household is because rents have skyrocketed, along with all the other fees, taxes and expenses associated with your fraud, waste and abuse. (Mismanagement of public funds, and now you have to tax and fee hike your way out of it.) If you create all this new and added density, you still haven't built new roads, parking, related infrastructure impacts -- and you have not yet invented de-hydrated water -- or some kind of synthetic water. (What's wrong with you Eric? AND...make sure you tell mic operator to turn your mics down when you are whispering to Rosendahl and he is heard saying to you in response, "What's the deal?" (YIKES!!! It's on the TV 35 archives, if you pay REALLY close attention. LOL!)

Congtats and thanks to CM Tom LaBonge (I won't call you LaBong, today, since you did good)...who stood up and wanted 60 days to figure this all out, and talk surrounding cities in the region to make sure we weren't doing too much heavy lifting that would only benefit the rest of the region.

Here's the closest thing to any coverage of this item from yesterday at latimes.com by Zahnhiser

Zuma Dogg's previous thread on this council item from this week. that will give a little more background.

And if any of you "In the Know Insiders" have any of the real angles on this, send your analysis to zumadogg@gmail.com. We know this is just a way to change zoning laws to allow added density to be allowed, to favor developers and their special interests -- wrapped up in a warm and fuzzy "affordable housing" bamboozle. Even Janice Hahn says we are giving away a lot. It goes against everything we've been trying to preserve in the City of Los Angeles. Questions why we are making it easier when we know it will frustrate community members who have worked so hard to preserve some of these things. And she is concerned that under this new ordinance, public hearings are not triggered, anymore.

BUT BESIDES THAT, SHE LOVES IT AS MUCH AS GARSHADY!!!

Since ZD wasn't there for public comment, I had Coucilmama Janice Hahn pinch hit for me, and deliver this public comment about the new density bonus ordinance.



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